1. Field of the Invention
The parent invention relates to a liquid saturated, foam-filled container as a device for providing simultaneous support of an animal or person placed thereon and thermal regulation of the body of that animal or person which can be enhanced by means of a thermal regulating unit; and, more specifically, to a liquid-saturated, foam-filled, cushioning support device for application in, for example, the medical field, as well as for recreational use. Various aspects of the instant application are directed to a thermally regulatable, pulsating, liquid-saturated, foam-filled container as a device for simultaneously providing support of a person placed thereon and for thermal regulation of the body of that person; and, more specifically, various embodiments of the instant invention are directed to pulsating, liquid-saturated, foam-filled, cushioning support devices for application in, for example, the medical field, wherein the device pulsates or vibrates to stimulate proper blood circulation in a bed-ridden person, thereby preventing bed sores and the like.
2. Description of Related Art
It has long been recognized that there are certain advantages to liquid containing devices, such as water beds, which support and/or act as thermal modulators and contain liquids, such as water, in a flexible or malleable container. The inherent drawbacks of such devices are that the liquid within the container moves freely, without restriction and that the liquid is typically required to bear the entire weight of a person or object placed thereon. Thus, such devices heretofore have relied upon increasing the pressure of the liquid within the container when an object is placed thereon in order to provide support. This typically makes the devices bulky and heavy. Further, when such devices are bent, or xe2x80x9cwrappedxe2x80x9d, around an object, they frequently tend to kink or bind as the liquid becomes partially or totally displaced at the bend.
Many water bed devices exist wherein fillers have been placed within the device in order to avoid wave action or other undesired movement of the liquid within the container or device. Such prior art devices, however, tend to kink or bend when a load is applied, such as when such a device is wrapped around a person""s arm, leg, etc. Even multi-chambered apparatuses are not satisfactory since complicated valving devices between chambers are typically required to support movement of the liquid through the device. Other devices employ valves, baffles, fillers, and the like to reduce wave motion and liquid displacement inherent in such liquid filled devices. Still other devices employ gels or deformable plastic type fillers. Although such devices purport to reduce the wave motion and liquid displacement through the device, none provides equalized support coupled with the unrestricted mobility of the water through the device.
Containers or continuous covers, such as sealable vinyl bags and the like, have also been filled with foams of various descriptions in order to alleviate some of the problems inherent in the liquid-filled devices. Though these foam-containing devices typically use an air-filled foam structure as a support, they do not provide the heat transferability of a liquid, nor the capacity for inducing circulatable undulations or pulsations directly through the contained liquid, rather than vibrating the entire device.
Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 3,872,526 issued to Betts for a xe2x80x9cVibratory Water Bedxe2x80x9d discloses a water-filled mattress having a plurality of vibratory units coupled in mechanical communication with the sides of the mattress. A vibratory motor causes mechanical perturbations or vibrations to travel to the mattress and therefore to the body of a person resting thereupon. The disclosed invention is for vibrating a non-foam-filled, xe2x80x9cfull-motionxe2x80x9d water bed. The water in the mattress of the disclosed invention is completely unrestricted and is mechanically vibrated by a vibratory motor coupled to the mattress as a unit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,215 issued to Santo for a xe2x80x9cUnitary Accessory Control for a Waterbedxe2x80x9d discloses a unitary accessory control unit having a variety of mechanisms for controlling the environment of the room in which the waterbed is located. Among the mechanisms disclosed is an oscillatory motor which vibrates a xe2x80x9cfull-motionxe2x80x9d, flexible waterbed bladder and thereby imparts motion to the fluid within the bladder. The mechanical perturbations of the oscillatory motor cause the entire waterbed bladder or mattress to vibrate and do not induce undulations or pulsations directly into the contained fluid itself. Further, the disclosed invention vibrates a non-foam filled waterbed mattress which has complete and unrestricted mobility of the fluid throughout the mattress.
Often, when an individual must lie in a bed in substantially the same position for great lengths of time, a standard foam mattress, waterbed, or other type of bed cushion may cause the patient to experience bed sores or other problems associated with pressure point contact and/or impaired blood circulation, unless the patient is rolled-over or otherwise is aided frequently in altering their body position. It would, therefore, be advantageous to have a lightweight device that afforded the structural support of foam, the heat transferability of a liquid, and the capacity to pulsate, vibrate or undulate the device without the inherent problems presented by unrestricted mobility of a liquid.
It has now been discovered that by saturating a foam-filled, flexible, liquid-impervious container with a liquid, the structural stability as well as the load bearing ability of the device can be enhanced, while still allowing selected mobility of the liquid by external means to provide beneficial vibratory or pulsating movement, while retaining enhanced thermal regulation, flexibility and mobility, not available with prior art devices.
In accordance with various embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a liquid-saturated, foam-filled, flexible container having a flexible, liquid-impervious outer membrane encapsulating a foam filler of the same dimensions, wherein the foam filler is saturated with a liquid such that the liquid has at least partial mobility through the foam filler, and the foam and the liquid cooperate within the confines of the outer membrane to provide the device with both flexibility and structural stability. In the present invention, the liquid-impervious, flexible container may be substantially filled with a porous foam material which is saturated with a liquid. This contained liquid may be caused directly to undulate or vibrate by allowing pulsating liquid exchange between an outside liquid pulsing source and the inside of the container, thereby affecting stimulation of the circulatory system of a person who is lying upon, or is otherwise in close contact with, the flexible, liquid container as well as helping to eliminate pressure points which cause xe2x80x9cbed sores.xe2x80x9d
The instant invention is ideally suited for use with, for example, the infirm, the elderly, hospital patients, or others who are confined to their beds for extended periods of time and who would otherwise suffer from blood sedimentation, sores, atrophy of muscles and the like. The instant invention, may also eliminate the problems commonly associated with standard mattresses or waterbeds, in that the liquid-saturated foam core of the present invention allows the body weight of the individual to be more evenly distributed, thereby preventing exertion of continuous pressure on the body""s xe2x80x9cpressure pointsxe2x80x9d, or points of contact with the bed or liner, which leads to bed sores and other problems caused by poor blood circulation, while damping or restricting the unfettered flow of liquid present in conventional water beds.
Additionally, the instant invention induces and regulates undulations or pulsations which continually move or vibrate the patient in a soothing yet effective, manner, thus improving blood circulation and preventing bed sores and other contact problems associated with constant pressure of the skin against a surface, such as a mattress pad.
In accordance with various embodiments, there is provided an external device for pulsing or moving liquid between the device and the core of the foam filled, flexible container to effect an undulation or vibration. The device may be capable of moving the liquid in a pulsating manner with varied amplitude and frequency. Thus, a vibration or a slow undulation may be introduced to effect different therapies. In one embodiment, the device is cycled through a program of frequencies and amplitudes to provide a gradually changing movement. In accordance with one aspect the surge is initated and then relaxed. In accordance with another aspect the surge is initiated and then reversed.
The instant foam filled, flexible container device inherently cools and/or heats a person""s body by allowing convective heat exchange between a person""s body and the liquid encapsulated within the container. The heat is passively dissipated to the surrounding environment. In another embodiment, the liquid is heated and/or cooled by means of a thermal regulator or external heating or cooling device which directly heats or cools the liquid external the container. The heating and cooling device and the pulsating and undulating device thus simultaneously operate on the liquid which is exchanged within the container. In an exemplary embodiment the external thermal regulation and the undulation of the liquid are performed by the same device.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, the appended claims, and references to the accompanying drawings which form a part of the specification, wherein like reference numbers designate corresponding parts in the several views.